A COUNTERFEIT stamps dealer from Bordesley Green who sold them to newsagents and corner shops in the city has been jailed for four months.

A COUNTERFEIT stamps dealer from Bordesley Green who sold them to newsagents and corner shops in the city has been jailed for four months.

Majid Raza, 27, of Whitacre Road, sold more than 9,000 stamps with a value of #2,736, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

In passing sentence on Raza, Judge John Saunders QC said: "I am afraid people have to know that if they deal in counterfeit stamps or coinage that prison sentences will almost inevitably follow."

He said although dealing in bogus stamps was not on the same level of seriousness as passing on counterfeit bank notes, it was not far away and that people who did it were extremely difficult to catch.

Raza had previously admitted a charge of having a false instrument with intent.

John Dove, prosecuting, said the West Midlands had been flooded with a vast quantity of fake stamps imported from China and normally distributed in booklets of 12 to newsagents and corner shops.

He said investigators acting on an anonymous tip-off found that a Yardley shopkeeper had 243 bogus stamps who said he had bought a batch for #400 and named Raza as his regular supplier.

Mr Dove said when Raza's home was searched police found bundles of fake stamps and a receipt book revealed he had sold more than 9,000 with a value of #2,736.

Raza admitted obtaining stamps from a cousin's shop in Erdington and selling them to other shops.

Talbir Singh, defending, said Raza had seen a chance to bolster his income but was not part of any large organisation.